Cliff Bell's

DeSean Jones
2021-04-18 19:30 - 2021-04-19 09:30, 2021-04-17 19:30 - 2021-04-18 09:30, 2021-04-16 19:30 - 2021-04-17 09:30, 2021-04-15 19:30 - 2021-04-16 09:30, 2021-04-14 19:30 - 2021-04-15 09:30, 2021-04-13 19:30 - 2021-04-14 09:30, 2021-04-12 19:30 - 2021-04-13 09:30, 2021-04-11 19:30 - 2021-04-12 09:30 (America/Detroit) and 15 more dates
De’Sean Jones is a Detroit based saxophonist, billboard charting recording artist and grammy nominated arranger. Over the past 20 years De’Sean has toured the world recording or performing with music Icons like Stevie Wonder, Faith Evans, along with a host of Detroit Legends; Marcus Belgrave, The Clark Sisters, Kierra Sheard and techno pioneer Mad Mike Banks of Underground Resistance.
As a bandleader & producer Jones has curated an eclectic approach that is widely viewed as progressive and undeniably rooted in the rich history of black culture. De’Sean actively pushes the boundaries of social consciousness through music in ways that are authentic, emotionally dynamic and intellectually stimulating.

All musical projects from De’Sean Jones can be accessed through his record label KNMDK Records.

Caravan Gypsy
2021-04-18 19:30 - 23:00
There will be two separate seatings at 7:30pm and 9:30pm for this performance.
Caravan Gypsy – is a fiery Russian, Gypsy and Jazz music group that brings rich blend of these traditions together in a unique and eclectic mix. Founded by guitarist Vlad Tovbin who hails all the way from Eastern Russia – Caravan Gypsy is a well known performing group in Detroit Metro Area. Current line up includes veterans of Detroit’s storied jazz scene – Takashi Iio on upright bass, Rick Beamon on drums and Igor Korokhov on keys.
Find out more here!

DThree Plus 3
2021-04-17 19:30 - 23:00
David Alvarez III is a jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and music educator based in the Metro-Detroit area. The drum set was introduced to him at the age of five, growing up playing in church. At the age of nine, he started to learn how to play Jazz through a summer program called The Arts League of Michigan. Afterward, for eight years he furthered his studies of the art form through the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Jazz Program, learning from Professors and College mentors from both Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. He has graduated from the University of Michigan in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies with Teacher Certification. Since then, he went on tour with the Benny Green Trio and is a member of the Clayton Brothers Quintet, led by bassist John Clayton and saxophonist Jeff Clayton. He currently freelances and teaches music in Southeast Michigan.

Andrew Brown’s DJANGOPHONIQUE
2021-04-16 19:30 - 23:00
Djangophonique is a musical project born out of reverence for the Parisian Jazz Manouche style that was made popular by the legendary Sinti guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintette du Hot Club de France. While remaining steeped in the rich and virtuosic tradition, the group brings this music into the present with stunning improv, spontaneity and musical interaction. Hot swing, lush ballads, musette waltzes, jazz standards, boleros, and moody minor pieces are all fused together with theatrical flair and musical humor.

Hughes/Smith Quintet
2021-04-15 19:30 - 23:00
There will be 2 seatings at 7:30pm and 9:30pm for this performance.

The HSQ is a Detroit-based jazz quintet that performs original music with purpose. The group is spearheaded by Saxophonist James Hughes & trumpeter Jimmy Smith. The quintet formed in the autumn of 2012 with the purpose of promoting their brand of Detroit be-bop. Fresh tunes, tight ensemble work, intriguing solos, and a band with personality and swing are among the group’s trademarks.
“…inspired by the grand Motor City jazz scene of the 1950s and early ’60s, these players update and extend that tradition with excellent writing, arranging, and playing for the 21st century.”
-Thom Jurek, allmusic.com
The Hughes/Smith Quintet has performed at several notable jazz clubs like The Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, The Bop Stop, Cliff Bell’s, Jazz Cafe at Music Hall, Motor City Wine, Cadieux Cafe, Black Lotus Brewery, and sets at the Michigan Jazz Festival, Experience Art Live Royal Oak Festival, St Columban Concert Series, and the Opportunity Detroit Concert Series. They have three recordings, FROM HERE ON OUT (2013) and EVER UP & ONWARD (2015) which made AllMusic’s “Favorite Jazz Album” of 2015 list and has been played on over 100 radio stations throughout the U.S. Their newest album MOTION was released in January 2018.
Find out more here!

Alex Harding Organ Trio
2021-04-11 19:30 - 23:00
There will be two separate seatings for this performance at 7:30 pm and at 9:30 pm.
Detroit-born baritone saxophonist Alex Harding first became active in jazz circles in his youth. Early on he studied with established jazz figures Yusef Lateef and Beans Bowles and was playing gigs with Donald Byrd and Wynton Marsalis before he was out of high school. Throughout the ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s, Harding toured, performed, and recorded without pause, collaborating with countless names in both jazz and pop circles that included everyone from the Marshall Allen-led Sun Ra Arkestra to work with David Lee Roth.
Harding was born in 1967 in Detroit, Michigan. After hearing Grover Washington, Jr. as a kid, he took up tenor saxophone, eventually switching over to baritone in high school. Though sax was his primary instrument, he would occasionally double on bass clarinet. He was already performing regularly around Detroit in his teenage years while studying with local jazz greats. By his early twenties he was performing internationally. He left Detroit for New York in the early ’90s, joining Julius Hemphill’s Saxophone Sextet and performing around town with Lester Bowie, Frank Lacy, Hamiet Bluiett’s Baritone Group, the Mingus Big Band, and many others. He also took part in shows and festival appearances with the Sun Ra Arkestra and the Roy Hargrove Big Band. He recorded multiple albums with longtime friend pianist Lucian Ban, including 2002’s Somethin’ Holy and a 2008 collaboration between the two friends and Romanian electronic musician Silent Strike entitled 3am. In the late 2000s he joined the Broadway production of FELA!!! both in New York and on tour. He eventually returned to Detroit, but stayed incredibly active in the studio and on the road. Harding and Ban reunited in 2019 for another collaborative album, Dark Blue.

Sean Dobbins and the Modern Jazz Messengers
2021-04-03 19:30 - 23:00, 2021-04-02 19:30 - 23:00
There will be two separate seatings for this performance at 7:30 pm and at 9:30 pm.
Jazz drummer Sean Dobbins got his start as sought-after Detroit area jazz sideman at a young age, when he would regularly play with Blue Note artist Louis Smith. As Sean’s Career progressed, he found himself the recipient of many awards and accolades including the “Woody Herman Jazz Award”, an award for outstanding musicianship, as well as the Louis Armstrong Scholarship. Due to Sean’s great talent both as a player and an educator, he has been the focus of countless news articles and jazz radio programs.
Though still young by jazz standards, Dobbins has amassed an impressive list of playing companions. He has performed/toured/recorded with Johnny Basset, Benny Golson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Frank Morgan, Joey DeFrancesco, George Cables, James “Blood” Ulmer, Marcus Belgrave, Larry Willis, Rodney Whittaker, Claude Black, Johnny O’Neal, Paul Keller, Tad Weed, Kurt Krahnke, Jon Hendricks, David “Fathead” Newman, Donald Walden, Cyrus Chesnut, Barry Harris, David Baker, Randy Johnston, Marion Hayden, Mose Allison, and a host of other great musicians.
Sean’s sound can best be described as hard-driving, solid rhythm with refreshing melodic sensibility. Some of Sean’s influences include Art Blakey, Jeff Hamilton, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Ed Thigpen, Sonny Payne, and also Detroit area greats Gerald Cleaver and the one and only Elvin Jones. A product of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, Sean has stayed devoted to education throughout his life. Early mentor Louis Smith, an Ann Arbor Public Schools band teacher, impressed the importance of a good education upon Sean at an early age. Sean is known in his community as a band director, drum teacher and positive influence for many.
In 1999 Sean was asked to become the director of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Summer Jazz Program. This program was designed to help educate and inspire young artist as they began their quest of learning jazz. In 1998, a year before Sean’s arrival, the program was in jeopardy of being cancelled due to low enrollment. In 2000, a year after Sean took over the reigns, the enrollment more than tripled and a year later, the group was featured on WEMU, a national jazz radio program.
As a father of three, Sean knows, understands, and accepts the challenge of continuing the art from through clinics, master classes, and concerts for up and coming musicians. Sean makes it a point of incorporating educational opportunities into all of his road trips.
Sean is no stranger to local or national headlines; he frequently plays at venues such as the Firefly Club (Ann Arbor), Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (Detroit), the Music Hall Jazz Cafe (Detroit), Murphy’s Place (Toledo) and Buddy Guy’s (Chicago). His recent recordings include “Odyssey” (PKO Records), “Revealing” (Reparation Records), and “Christmas Songs for Jazz Lovers” (PKO Records), and Blue Horizons featuring Sean and his quintet, the Modern Jazz Messengers.
Find out more
